11/26/13

purple pimpernel

I'm not really sure this tiny flower is a pimpernel but it looks like the scarlet variety and it's fun to say 'purple pimpernel'. If you know its real name, please let me know.




11/22/13

11/21/13

canadian geese in nz, eh!

These Canadian geese were feeding beneath a rhododendron at Lake Mangamahoe last weekend. They are certainly a long way from home!



11/20/13

feeding the little ones

I thought we had a new kind of visitor on the lawn until I saw Mama Starling feeding them. I was surprised, and excited, that she chose to do it so close to the house. I snapped a few shots that evening and forgot about them until Hubby told me that he had taken their picture the next morning before work. :)



11/19/13

evening skies

I've never really lived without neighbors before this last move--not by choice, but by circumstance. Now that we have clear views of nature for miles, I spend a lot of time making Hubby look out the window at something I found. The sunsets are pretty spectacular and we are always taking photos as the sun sets behind the trees. Here are a few peeks at our Taranaki sunsets.





11/17/13

black swans at lake mangamahoe

Usually, we only see five or six black swans at this lake, but today there were so many, I couldn't count them all! 

lake-mangamahoe


This is just one group that we saw.


lake-mangamahoe


11/16/13

giant chess board

One of the festival gardens had this giant chess board set up in a shady corner of the property. It looks like fun.
chess-set

11/15/13

blazing azaleas

Here is more of the spring color in King Edward Park in Hawera.
blazing-color-azalea
photo by Hubby

king-edward-park-hawera-nz
photo by me



11/13/13

napier-art deco rebuild

In 1931, Napier, in Hawke's Bay, was hit with a 7.8 earthquake that flattened the city. It was rebuilt in the style of 1920's art deco. Each year, on the third weekend in February, they celebrate with Art Deco Weekend, where you can join one of the many walking tours of the city.


art-deco





11/12/13

white flowers

These are flowers from the recent Fringe Festival. This festival started out to be a more economical alternate to the annual Taranaki Garden Festival but now is much larger than it.

fringe-festival-flowers


11/11/13

color overload

The annual Fringe Festival has ended and I have so many photos that I just can't bear to post them one at a time!



11/7/13

quirky pets

Feeding her pet eels was part of the fringe garden festival at a rural garden. She made sure each one got fed. To each her own!





11/4/13

spring color in Hawera

We were assaulted by wonderful spring blossoms at King Edward Park in Hawera yesterday and took way too many pictures!

spring-colors
taranaki-spring-colors